Hope Is the Denial of Reality
by iPods-and-Tea
Summary: Whilst her mentality withers away Azula discovers a way to avenge all whom have deceived her.


_Drip…drop…drip…drip…_

**Water.**

_Clink…clank…clink…clink…_

**Earth.**

_Sizzle…crackle...sizzle…sizzle…_

**Fire.**

_Whoosh…swish...whoosh…whoosh…_

**Air.**

**L**ong ago the four nations did live in harmony. It all changed when, we the incredulous Fire Nation, attacked. One hundred glorious years of triumph passed, but that all changed when the new avatar was discovered. He was an airbender named Aang. His airbending skills were perfected, but he had a lot more to learn before he was ready to _save__anyone_. That wretch _saved__the__world_. That wench, alongside my treacherous _brother._

I was _Princess_ Azula.

I didn't deserve to be locked away in a cage by my treasonous brother, like I was some sort of _monster_.

_Zuzu_ didn't deserve to be Fire Lord, that eminence should've been reserved for me and me alone.

I was defeated by some _peasant_. Some Water Tribe peasant had defeated the cunning, brilliant, impeccable, potential Fire Lord, Princess Azula.

Everyone betrayed me. They all left me in the dust…

Mother.

Uncle.

Zuko.

Mai.

Ty Lee.

_And Father._

Mother left me alone to spare _Zuko_. She always favored _Zuko_. She hated me, claimed I was a monster. Uncle left me, he also left me for _Zuko_. Uncle Iroh followed _Zuko_into banishment and left me here to wither away under the hands of _him_. Mai betrayed me at the prison at the boiling rock. She attacked me, she betrayed me over _Zuko_. She claimed she loved _Zuko_ more than she feared me, or apparently cared about me, her supposed best friend. She miscalculated; she should have feared me more. Ty Lee deceived me to help Mai, essentially helping _Zuko_. Even Ty Lee selected _Zuko_ over me. The entire world seemed to have a conspicuous favoritism for _Zuko_. The entire world that is, exempt from my father.

Father was the only one who preferred me over Zuko. He recognized me superiority and remarkable skills as a firebender. I was a prodigy, Father knew it. Mother never appreciated this fact, but Father did. To him, I was what I was in reality: a brilliant, firebending prodigy, born to govern the Fire Nation and conquer the world. He saw that I had the ability to overtake the world with my ingenious and wit. He looked past the ignorant tradition that a man must lead a nation, he knew Zuko was incompetent and a klutzy, dimwitted fool. He realized brains over brawn, why couldn't mother? She preferred his dense, warmhearted, charisma.

As it turns out, even Father has betrayed me. He forsook me, deceived my own plot. He threw me there with the unwanted leftovers to be Fire Lord, as he would rise with the renowned title of the Phoinex King of the World. He didn't even bother to stay and watch my coronation. He was treating me like he'd treated Zuko; leaving me to rot. He'd left me in the dirt. Abandon me. Like everyone else.

_He'd betrayed me._

Just like everyone else, he'd betrayed me. The majority of them left me for Zuko. Father just didn't care. He did not care about anything. Nothing but power meant to him. I can't say I'm innocent of that charge myself.

Zuko steals everything from me. He stole my heir rights, my mother's affection, my uncle's support and guidance, my two best friends, and now, most importantly, my crown. That dumbfounded, imprudent, rash, impulsive, idiot doesn't deserve to rule the Fire Nation. He'll find some completely idiotic excuse for fumbling as a leader. His heart of gold and impetuous persona will come back to bite him, you can't show _compassion_ when running the Fire Nation. You must demonstrate your power; make your people abide your laws unconditionally through the tactic of fear. No one would fear _Zuko_, especially when he fears his own shadow.

Zuko even stole my state of mind and my freedom. That worthless nuisance locked me away in a cell to rot. He claimed it was to help me, that it was an asylum for my mental health. Yes, I'm no fool, I know it is an asylum, but Zuko did it for no concern of mine. He wanted me locked away, like father, out of his way so he could govern the nation I was supposed to rule.

I couldn't stand to watch. I was already on the brink of insanity and a descent into madness. The last thing I needed was for Zuko and that Water Tribe peasant to show up to usurp my throne. Leave it to Zuzu to find another friend. Everyone just _loves_Zuko don't they? My own brother, nothing but an exiled outcast, had the audacity to challenge _me_ to an Agni Kai. I would put him into his place, I thought. In the duel, I couldn't bare the sight of that repulsive peasant standing there witnessing our sibling duel, with her wide, blue eyes, watching in awe. Yet, another person that would follow Zuko, no one follows me. I had to eliminate that disgusting sight, get rid of her, then I'd take care of Zuko whilst he was distraught over that indignant peasant dying on the ground from a blow of my lightning. Little did I know that my moronic brother would sacrifice himself to spare the Water Tribe peasant, nor did I know she'd defeat me and heal Zuko. I was all alone and Zuko found another ally and companion. I couldn't even maintain one.

Kneeling there, shackled to the ground by that peasant, was the shove that sent me off the edge. I'd lost it all. Zuko, the one causing all my complications initially, defeated me. The only things I had that he didn't was now being stripped from me and given to him. He was taking his birthright back and I would never be Fire Lord or even see daylight again, by Zuko's wishes. They both were staring at me with pity, they should be cowering in fear! I could hear Father scolding and chastising me now: "Azula, after all this, your sieges and triumphs in war, you lose to _Zuko_? Pathetic". They were looking down on me as I lost my mind, I did not deserve this humiliation. I didn't need Zuko nor that peasant's sympathy.

I have nothing anymore. The only thing I now want is to avenge them all. I want to avenge all their worthless existences with a horrible turbulence to haunt them until the end of time. Some unbearable turmoil that would guilt them into insanity, just like how I'd been driven. Make one of them lose what I'd lost: their sanity. I had no purpose for being anymore either, Zuko had taken every ounce of dignity I had, why carry on and suffer these ruthless days in the mental hospital from hell. I would have the last laugh. I always have the last laugh, I always win. Nobody can outsmart me, wily, sly, clever Princess Azula, daughter of Ozai and Ursa.

The madness ends here.

My suffering ends here; theirs begins here.

_Drip…drop…drip…drip…_

**Water.**

_Clink…clank…clink…clink…_

**Earth.**

_Sizzle…crackle...sizzle…sizzle…_

**Fire.**

_Whoosh…swish...whoosh…whoosh…_

**Air.**

I heard the cringe-worthy sounds. They made me recall the avatar, making me bitterly recollect my brother. The dripping water, leaking from the sewage pipes hanging above me. _Drip__…__drop_-**Water.** The sounds of the shackles moving with my feet which they forcibly clang to, those shackles that drug against the rock floor. _Clink__…__Clank_-**Rock.**The sound of the guards practicing their firebending in freedom, laughing, enjoying themselves. Wait until I made them suffer. I wish I could practice my firebending. _Sizzle__…__crackle_-**Fire.**The sound of the wind whisking in through the only light I had in my dingy confinement. The breeze blowing in through the small, barred window against the top of the ceiling and wall. _Whoosh__…__swish_-**Air.**

Those were the sounds I heard as lifted the stolen dagger. The dagger I had swiped from Zuko's pocket the night he came to visit me, that first and last time. The inscription read something my uncle would've preached with his incessant proverbs. It read:

_Never Give Up Without a Fight_

I grinned.

Succumbing to fears was for the weak.

Capitulating to overwhelm was for cowards.

I was no weak coward.

I would not go down, deployed by Zuko, in some asylum without a fight.

Azula always comes out victorious, _she__always__wins._

No one would take joy from seeing Azula in such woeful conditions.

No one else would betray her for _Zuzu._

It was time for her to betray them back.

Time for her to stab her backstabbers back.

Without even having to stab them.

I stared down into the polished knife from the Earth Kingdom.

I saw my pitiful condition; the dark circles beneath my eyes.

No more.

I was the Princess.

I was Azula.

Azula never loses.

She always rules over them all.

Always triumphs.

Always gets cunning vengeance upon all who dare deceive her.

She would strike a callous vengeance upon them all.

She would _**win**_.

Zuko had just found his mother yesterday; his father finally was blackmailed into revealing her location of banishment. Upon hearing that news Zuko asked Aang to borrow his flying bison, Appa, and together they located her. He was so relieved to see his mother alive and well and to just _see_ her again. Ursa didn't recognize her son at first with his age and his fierce scar, which was so painfully branded across his face. Ursa insisted on seeing her husband, she wanted to scold him for doing such a thing to her little boy. She had requested Zuko accompany her for her visit, Zuko refused, he vowed to never look at the man again since the last time he'd spoken with him, he'd almost turned into something he wasn't. Zuko knew all to well that his mother would soon be asking of the fate of her daughter, and that relaying to her the truth was inevitable, no matter how much it would hurt his mother to discover.

"Zuko…" Ursa began as they walked on the trail from the Fire Nation's highest secured and surveillanced prison.

"…Yes, Mom," Zuko muttered, he knew what she would ask of him.

"…Where…where is Azula?" Ursa asked, almost reluctantly, as if she expected to hear something utterly painful. Zuko turned his head and formed a grimace.

"You're not going to like it, Mom," Zuko stated with a downhearted sigh.

"I have to know what happened to my daughter, Zuko, please," She begged him.

"…She's in an asylum, Mom, she lost it," Zuko confessed and Ursa's eyes widened in shock.

"My baby girl…in an asylum…" She muttered, tears accumulating in her eyes.

"Mom…I think you should just…not think about it…" Zuko stated.

"Take me to her," Ursa demanded.

"What? Mom…" Zuko started.

"Look, Mister Fire Lord, I don't care who you are now, I'm still your mother and I want to see my daughter, now," Ursa said, a bit harshly and Zuko nodded and began leading her to the asylum that was a mile or two from the palace. The walls were cold and looked horrid. The guards nearly prevented Ursa from entering, but Zuko gave them assurance and shooed them away. Another guard greeted them at the door and asked if he could be of assistance.

"I'd like to see my sister, sir," Zuko spoke.

"…Sire…I-" The guard began as he stared despondently at the ground, avoiding eye contact at all costs.

"Just Zuko is fine," Zuko stated humbly.

"…Zuko…I…" He tried to state again.

"Azula, my sister?" Zuko asked, perplexed by the man's stumbling, "My mother wishes to see her, that is alright?"

"…I'm sorry, Sir-Zuko…I'm afraid…your sister passed away this morning…" The guard mustered out of his mouth remorsefully. Zuko's eyes widened in fear and his mouth flew agape.

"…No," Zuko mouthed, "But…you-you can't be serious?" Zuko blinked rapidly.

"I offer my deepest condolences," The guard said, bowing respectively.

"_Azula__always__lies,__"_ Zuko thought to himself, wishfully, "…She's tricking you, she's up to something. It's a plot to escape!" Zuko yelled.

"Perhaps…" The guard mused allowed.

"…My little girl…" Ursa just said blankly, she appeared void of emotion; her eyes were lifeless and lost their gleam.

"This is a mistake, Azula's only sixteen, she couldn't just die!" Zuko shouted as he pressed his fingertips to his forehead trying to comprehend the situation. His little sister, dead? As a person he hated her, but in a way, he reluctantly loved his sister, and pitied her, feeling she was just as much a victim of their father, possibly more so, than himself. He wanted her to recover, she was brilliant, if she'd recovered he always thought he could use her intelligence to help with the peace restoration movements. How could his little sister _just__die_? And his mother…he didn't know what to say to her.

"…She committed suicide…less than an hour ago, actually," The guard said bitterly.

"…How?" Zuko cried.

"A knife…we don't know how she got it…it's an Earth Kingdom knife," The guard explicated and Zuko's eyes widened in horror, he was missing the knife his uncle gave him since he'd visited Azula.

"…If…I was here earlier…I could have…I could have saved my baby…" Ursa trembled, she would descend into madness soon, she was on the verge of breaking down, and on the brink between the thin line between sanity and insanity. Azula, his ingenious sister was dead at her own hand? Zuko was baffled in shock and he just couldn't believe it.

"You may see her if you wish, we haven't cleaned the area yet," The guard said, gulping and inhaling deep breaths. Ursa nodded through the tears welling up and the huge lump in her throat. The self-guilt she was feeling at the moment was indescribable. Zuko was in complete shock, perhaps classified as denial, but he just could not fathom that his sister was dead. The guard led them through the nondescript, melancholy, asylum rooms and down to Azula's chamber. Ursa cupper her hands over her mouth at the sight and collapsed to her knees and began to weep uncontrollably. Zuko felt his heart fall into the pit of his stomach and twist into a tightened knot. Her hair looked, unkempt and her bangs were cut shaggily and uneven, resembling that of the night of their Agni Kai. Zuko caught himself with tears trickling down his unscarred cheek. Azula, the princess fire bending prodigy, curled up into a ball in the corner of an asylum chamber with a knife loged into her throat. Her beautifully polished and groomed fingernails clutching the brick walls in agony and pain likely inflicted by the knife pierced through her flesh by her own hands. Both Zuko and Ursa felt culpable for her death. That guilt and grief would haunt them to their darkest days. But the most unsettling feeling would come from the engraved etching, sloppily carved into the brick. The brick read an eerie, vague message that said all about Azula's corrupt mentality. The brick ambiguously stated:

_**I win.**_


End file.
